Physics is art! (Free-Body Diagrams: Creating & Linear Motion); 50 minutes + 30 minute extension.
State Standards:
PS3 (9-11)–9 Students demonstrate an understanding of forces and motion by…
9b using Newton’s Laws of Motion and the Law of Conservation of Momentum to predict the effect on the motion of objects.
National Standards:
CONTENT STANDARD B: As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students should
develop an understanding of...
Motions and forces
Context of Lesson:
This lesson is designed with the intent of further fortifying a student's ability to generate free-body diagrams. It is critical in the process of showing students that free-body diagrams apply to all areas of physics and should serve as a foundation of almost any problem. In this lesson the class will be shown a step-by-step process for creating a free-body diagram that should parallel the processes used in the kinematics section. Some of the primary focuses of this lesson are the following:
Further mastering the ability to create free-body diagrams for ANY problem, regardless of problem difficulty
Solve a variety of fundamental and complex problems regarding forces, mass, and acceleration
Incorporate prior knowledge learned about kinematics to solve two-part problems with F=ma.
Further understand that Newton's 2nd law (F=ma) is most quantitatively important formula
Further understand that Newton's 1st and 3rd laws are qualitative and help verify problems
Opportunities to Learn:
The students will again engage is class discussion both teacher and students led. The class will watch a video online and use that to review what was learned the previous lesson. The opportunities in this lesson involve a opportunity to use technology to review, and ingenuity to create an elevator system as described in the extension section. This inquiry assignment will have the students wondering if this is how elevators really work today, or if they are much more complicated. The students will be primarily left on their own for this experiment, however, guidance to keep them on track towards finishing in time will be provided by the teacher.
Depth of Knowledge:
-As discussed in the objectives and main lesson plan, the depth of knowledge in this lesson is focused in the following categories:
Remembering
Understanding
Applying
Analyzing
Evaluating
Creating
Prerequisite Knowledge:
-Students will need a firm grasp on Newton's 2nd law to effectively enjoy this lesson. For instance, students who may be struggling in the mathematics but understanding the general concepts will hopefully find enjoyment in the elevator inquiry assignment. Students will also need to know how to use a scale and measure height with a meter stick or ruler.
How much practice have they had with N2 at this point? How much practice did you need to "have a firm grasp" of this idea?
Plans for Differentiating Instruction:
For students who are of the tactile MI the elevator inquiry assignment should be a create change of pace. Newton's 2nd law comes with a lot of math but does not allow as much "doing" as some of the other topics. Therefore, the incorporation of free-body diagrams and building of an elevator should motivate these students to build AND attempt to work on some math.
Accommodations and modifications:
Environmental factors:
Materials:
1st YouTube video
2nd YouTube video
Books
Quiz
All elevator supplies (objects, pulleys hanging from ceiling, fishing line, stopwatches, paper, markers, etc.)
Objectives:
Some of the key focuses of this lesson include the following:
Mastering the ability to create free-body diagrams for ANY problem, regardless of problem difficulty
Solving a variety of fundamental and complex problems regarding forces, mass, and acceleration
Incorporating prior knowledge learned about kinematics to solve two-part problems with F=ma.
Understanding that Newton's 2nd law (F=ma) is most quantitatively important formula
Understanding that Newton's 1st and 3rd laws are qualitative and help verify problems
Instruction:
Opening:
First 5 minutes of class:
Settling in and class attendance
5:00-20:00 into class:
Watch video of Harrier jet to recap of last lesson.
Afterward, watch short video of Harrier crash.
Similar to the example on page 112 in the book, break down (simplistically) how the Harrier jet works with the students (In terms of Newton's 3rd law).
Engagement:
20:00-35:00 into class:
Do example 4.5 in the book on the board. Make sure to do the follow-up exercise at the end of the problem. You should do this calculation and include it in your notes for the lesson. Don't rely on your past problem solving to do problems "on the fly" because slight misteps can confuse struggling students.
Do example 4.6 in the book on the Atwood Machine. Explain how this problem can be redesigned into a 1-D problem. Make sure to emphasize to the students that this kind of manipulation is a useful tool for many physics problems. What kind of manipulation? Atwoods machines require drawing multiple free body diagrams and solving a system of equations. Have they done this before? Should they practice?
Closure:
35:00-50:00 into class:
Have the class take a formative quiz. The quiz should be based summatively on Newton's 1st law (very brief), and more formatively on Newton's 2nd law. How will the formative and summative parts be different?
Extension:
50:00-80:00 into class:
Inquiry assignment based on "Build an elevator". Have the students break into groups of 3-4 students. The students will be responsible for building an elevator using a pulley system similar to the Atwood Machine. The students can only measure the mass of two objects and how far away does their elevator have to move before coming to rest. After the groups have designed and constructed their elevator systems they will be assigned a certain height that they must deliver their elevator to. Once they have this set up and working they must calculate the amount of time it will take their elevator to go from the ground to the final destination. After all the groups are ready the teacher will walk around the room with a stopwatch and measure how long the students elevators take and the students will compare that with their theoretical hypotheses.
Have you done this? How do elevators actually work? Do they use counterweights like old windows? Do modern windows use counter weights? If not, how do they work? Such questions might interest students since they're about everyday things.
How will this project be assessed? What evidence will you require that students engaged in inquiry?
Assessment:
The class will take a quiz on Newton's 2nd law which will provide a formative assessment for both the teacher and the students to better prepare for the upcoming final test.
In question 3 of your quiz, are students supposed to assume that there is no air resistance? Did the quiz say that and I missed it?
In question 4. Mr Kenahan is actually being pushed forward by the ground.
Rhode Island Department of Education Lesson Plan
Lesson Title:
Physics is art! (Free-Body Diagrams: Creating & Linear Motion); 50 minutes + 30 minute extension.State Standards:
PS3 (9-11)–9 Students demonstrate an understanding of forces and motion by…National Standards:
CONTENT STANDARD B: As a result of their activities in grades 9-12, all students shoulddevelop an understanding of...
Context of Lesson:
This lesson is designed with the intent of further fortifying a student's ability to generate free-body diagrams. It is critical in the process of showing students that free-body diagrams apply to all areas of physics and should serve as a foundation of almost any problem. In this lesson the class will be shown a step-by-step process for creating a free-body diagram that should parallel the processes used in the kinematics section. Some of the primary focuses of this lesson are the following:Opportunities to Learn:
The students will again engage is class discussion both teacher and students led. The class will watch a video online and use that to review what was learned the previous lesson. The opportunities in this lesson involve a opportunity to use technology to review, and ingenuity to create an elevator system as described in the extension section. This inquiry assignment will have the students wondering if this is how elevators really work today, or if they are much more complicated. The students will be primarily left on their own for this experiment, however, guidance to keep them on track towards finishing in time will be provided by the teacher.Depth of Knowledge:
-As discussed in the objectives and main lesson plan, the depth of knowledge in this lesson is focused in the following categories:Prerequisite Knowledge:
-Students will need a firm grasp on Newton's 2nd law to effectively enjoy this lesson. For instance, students who may be struggling in the mathematics but understanding the general concepts will hopefully find enjoyment in the elevator inquiry assignment. Students will also need to know how to use a scale and measure height with a meter stick or ruler.How much practice have they had with N2 at this point? How much practice did you need to "have a firm grasp" of this idea?
Plans for Differentiating Instruction:
For students who are of the tactile MI the elevator inquiry assignment should be a create change of pace. Newton's 2nd law comes with a lot of math but does not allow as much "doing" as some of the other topics. Therefore, the incorporation of free-body diagrams and building of an elevator should motivate these students to build AND attempt to work on some math.Accommodations and modifications:
Environmental factors:
Materials:
Objectives:
Some of the key focuses of this lesson include the following:Instruction:
Opening:
- First 5 minutes of class:
Settling in and class attendance- 5:00-20:00 into class:
Watch video of Harrier jet to recap of last lesson.Afterward, watch short video of Harrier crash.
Similar to the example on page 112 in the book, break down (simplistically) how the Harrier jet works with the students (In terms of Newton's 3rd law).
Engagement:
- 20:00-35:00 into class:
Do example 4.5 in the book on the board. Make sure to do the follow-up exercise at the end of the problem. You should do this calculation and include it in your notes for the lesson. Don't rely on your past problem solving to do problems "on the fly" because slight misteps can confuse struggling students.Do example 4.6 in the book on the Atwood Machine. Explain how this problem can be redesigned into a 1-D problem. Make sure to emphasize to the students that this kind of manipulation is a useful tool for many physics problems. What kind of manipulation? Atwoods machines require drawing multiple free body diagrams and solving a system of equations. Have they done this before? Should they practice?
Closure:
- 35:00-50:00 into class:
Have the class take a formative quiz. The quiz should be based summatively on Newton's 1st law (very brief), and more formatively on Newton's 2nd law. How will the formative and summative parts be different?Extension:
- 50:00-80:00 into class:
Inquiry assignment based on "Build an elevator". Have the students break into groups of 3-4 students. The students will be responsible for building an elevator using a pulley system similar to the Atwood Machine. The students can only measure the mass of two objects and how far away does their elevator have to move before coming to rest. After the groups have designed and constructed their elevator systems they will be assigned a certain height that they must deliver their elevator to. Once they have this set up and working they must calculate the amount of time it will take their elevator to go from the ground to the final destination. After all the groups are ready the teacher will walk around the room with a stopwatch and measure how long the students elevators take and the students will compare that with their theoretical hypotheses.Have you done this? How do elevators actually work? Do they use counterweights like old windows? Do modern windows use counter weights? If not, how do they work? Such questions might interest students since they're about everyday things.
How will this project be assessed? What evidence will you require that students engaged in inquiry?
Assessment:
The class will take a quiz on Newton's 2nd law which will provide a formative assessment for both the teacher and the students to better prepare for the upcoming final test.In question 3 of your quiz, are students supposed to assume that there is no air resistance? Did the quiz say that and I missed it?
In question 4. Mr Kenahan is actually being pushed forward by the ground.
Reflections
(only done after lesson is enacted)Student Work Sample 1 – Approaching Proficiency:
Student Work Sample 2 – Proficient:
Student Work Sample 3 – Exceeds Proficiency: